Monday, June 1, 2015

Now, We Wait

On March 9th, I was given an opportunity that was going to change my life forever. After a nerve-racking, excruciating, stressful two hours in a place I can only describe as a war room at El Cerrito High School, I was told I had been selected to attend Cornell University as a part of the Ivy League Connection. That was nearly three months ago. Now, my cohort and I are two weeks away from a trip that will change our lives, a trip that will become a part of our identities. Today was the Ivy League Connection's last meet up day before we begin our trip on June 16th. There are no more forms, no more admissions, no more essays, just waiting for the days to whither by.

As per tradition, all the students of Hercules High donned an aloha Hawaiian shirt as tribute to the man that is Don Gosney. While parading around with my cohort minutes prior to the meeting, I could overhear other schools saying how they'd start their own tradition of wearing a specific type of clothing to future orientation meetings. I didn't start the trend, but I felt proud to be a part of a high school that had so much fun with a program and made everyone feel like life long friends.

After an introduction by Don, the various chaperones, and Madeline Kronenberg, all the cohorts divided themselves and relocated into small class. Our chaperone, Mr. Chan-Law, briefly explained our itinerary for the trip and answered any questions that he had for us. As he explained the trip more and more, I found myself getting more and more excited for what this program had in store for us. I found myself drifting off and thinking about what the trip had in store for the summer of 2015.

At 7 P.M., we relocated back into the multipurpose room, where Don explained the loaner items that were up for grabs. Following that, we wrapped it all up for the evening and passed the final obstacle before we would tackle the monster that is known as the East Coast. The Hercules students met up and took a multitude of different pictures, again revitalizing my pride in my high school. With everything out of the way, the only thing we can do now is wait.